Google Glass Creator Babak Parviz Snagged by Amazon

The architect behind Google Glass and the founder of the company’s semi-secret research outlet, Google X, is now joining Amazon in an uncommon move that illuminates the mounting significance of optics in tomorrow’s tech.

Babak Parviz, who is also the co-founder of Google’s smart contact lens program, announced the news on his Google+ page over the weekend, writing, simply, “status: super excited!” above an image of the Amazon logo.

Beyond Glass, which is currently in the midst of a high-fashion makeover, Parviz made waves in April when he announced the development of Google’s smart contact lenses, made with super-tiny chips, sensors and antennas that aim to track glucose levels to help people with diabetes.

While it is unknown exactly which projects Parviz will undertake at Amazon, TheVergesuspects he may hone his focus on the new Fire Phone, whose Firefly feature is designed to recognize over 100 million buyable items, and whose “dynamic perspective” feature creates an immersive experience depending upon how the phone is held.

Last May, Google replaced Parviz with fashion executive Ivy Ross as head of Glass in order to make the high-tech invention more marketable at retail.